Best One-Year MSW Programs Online (No BSW) of 2025

Social workers help individuals, couples, and families address their problems and improve their ability to participate fully in their communities through clinical and non-clinical programs and treatments.

Although many non-clinical job opportunities are available to individuals with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree, earning a Master of Social Work (MSW) will prepare students for various roles, including clinical social work.

While having a BSW can expedite earning an MSW, many MSW programs accept students from all educational backgrounds. Because of the amount of coursework and clinical experiences students with no BSW must complete to earn their MSW, these programs typically take at least 16 months to finish. However, most online MSW programs (no BSW) are designed to be completed in two years of full-time study.

This article will explore earning an MSW with no BSW, including what to expect from the curriculum and how to find the right online MSW programs for you. We also spoke with Leslie Reyna, an admissions counselor for the University of Texas at Arlington’s School of Social Work, for her insights into entering the field of social work without a BSW.

How to Earn an MSW Program Without a BSW

If you are a student who doesn’t have a BSW, you’ll want to seek out a traditional MSW program with a curriculum that includes the foundational social work coursework covered in a BSW program. Students must understand the basic frameworks of social work practice before they can advance into higher-level courses, so these foundational courses are an essential part of social work education.

The minimum criteria to enter any master’s program, including an MSW, is a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college. Some traditional MSW programs prefer students who have a bachelor’s degree in a social sciences field, such as sociology, psychology, or human development, while others accept students from all educational backgrounds.

Students may also have to fulfill prerequisite coursework requirements depending on the program. Programs may allow students to use courses completed as part of their undergraduate degree to meet these prerequisites, or they may be able to complete this coursework before enrolling. Students should check with any MSW program they’re considering to find out what, if any, prerequisites there are. You may also be able to waive specific course requirements in your MSW program if you’ve already earned a graduate degree in a similar field, such as counseling.

Other eligibility criteria may include a minimum undergraduate GPA (typically 3.0 or higher), GRE scores, and professional experience in a social services-related field.

What to Expect in an Online MSW Program (No BSW)

Earning an online MSW without a BSW means completing foundational and advanced social work coursework and clinical fieldwork requirements. Traditional MSW programs for students with no BSW typically require 48-60 credit hours. Some accelerated programs can be completed in as little as 16 months of full-time study. However, most programs are designed to take two years of full-time or three years of part-time study.

The curriculum for an online MSW (no BSW) consists of foundational coursework that introduces students to the basics of the social work profession. This includes topics in social work values and ethics, social and economic justice, human development and behaviors, social welfare policy, and services, and the impact of social environment on individuals and groups. Students then move on to advanced coursework focused on providing direct care to clients in clinical settings, as well as leadership, advocacy, and research.

Many online MSW programs (no BSW) offer concentration options in social and organizational impact; administration and community practice; family, youth, and children’s services, and more. Specializations allow students to develop deeper skills in an area of particular interest.

A clinical internship is another key component of MSW programs. “In accredited MSW programs, students must intern at a site that allows them to achieve direct practice experience in which they interact one-on-one with individuals in some capacity, whether providing them with services or connecting them with services,” Reyna says. The required clinical hours vary, but it’s typically around 900 total hours for most traditional MSW programs (no BSW).

Reyna notes that even for online programs, students should plan on attending their internship in person. “There are rare internships that allow students to earn their hours remotely,” she says. “However, these are typically in high demand and often are only provided for students who have a medical or physical disability that prevents them from being able to complete the internship in person. In most cases, the only way internship placements ensure that students obtain the required hours for the internship while also achieving direct practice experience is to have students attend their internship in person.”

In online MSW programs, courses are delivered either synchronously or asynchronously. In a synchronous program, students participate in live virtual classes, allowing them to engage with faculty and classmates. Meanwhile, asynchronous programs have no scheduled classes. Instead, students can access and complete lessons and assignments according to their schedule, giving them more flexibility.